1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to recording keystroke information in a keyboard operated musical instrument, and more particularly to a mounting rail assembly for supporting optical recording sensors associated with the keys, hammers, hammer shanks or hammer catchers in a piano.
2. Description of the Background Art
Recording sensors are commonly used in electronic player piano systems to capture keystroke information. Typically, sensor assemblies are mounted below the keyboard to sense the movement and position of the keys for recording the original piano performance. In conventional player piano systems, the sensor assemblies are mounted on a common rack assembly which is sized to match the size of the keyboard. Since the rack assembly must be sized to match the size of the keyboard, it is necessary to customize the rack assembly for different types of player pianos.
Currently available rack assemblies do not provide for adjustability of the position of the sensors in relation to the keys. In the piano industry, however, there are at least four distinct piano key spacing arrangements. It will be appreciated that there is a large number of individual keys to be sensed in a player piano. Further, optical sensors may be positioned for sensing the movement and position of hammers, hammer shanks, or other moving portions of the piano which are associated with the piano keys. Currently used sensor rack assemblies are generally structured and configured to be positioned beneath the piano keys themselves, and are not suitable for supporting optical sensors which detect position and motion of hammers, hammer shanks, or moving parts other than the piano keys themselves.
Thus, there is a need for an apparatus which will allow for sensing key movement without interfering with the key movement, which provides for accurate positioning of each sensor in relation to the corresponding key, and which can be used for supporting optical sensors for the detection of position and movement of hammers, hammer shanks, or like moving parts of a piano which are associated with the keys. There is a further need for sensor assemblies which can be easily retrofitted to existing pianos with varying keyboard sizes and key spacing configurations. The present invention satisfies those needs, as well as others, and overcomes the deficiencies found in conventional sensor assembly mounting techniques.